Cursed: Seven Devils
by Alex Nicole
Summary: Ep: 1.17 - A concept in game theory. A result; a consequence. We all have times when we think, "What if I'd chosen differently?" One small decision can completely overturn an outcome. 3 chaptered story.
1. Chapter 1

**Summary:** 1.17 - A concept in game theory. A result; a consequence. We all have times when we think, "What if I'd chosen differently?" I watched Diana hesitate between doing something for someone else, as she's very much used to, or doing something for herself. One small decision can completely overturn an outcome.

**Note: **Aren't we all a little fascinated with Fate? If there _is_ such a thing? And if it does exist, when does it occur? Does it have specific moments, or one alone? When writing stories, we're all playing Fate, right? But I wanted to play it into this episode's series of events. I wondered how different it would have been if in that moment of hesitaion, Diana had chosen to help Adam and Cassie. I had a specific song in mind when I started writing this and it proved to fit perfectly.

For all Jake & Diana shippers, lets all join hands. ;D

**Disclaimer: This is the work of fan fiction. None of the places, characters, or other names associated with this fic are mine. The lyrics used from _Seven Devils _belong to Florence + The Machine.**

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><p><strong>Chapter One<strong>

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><p><em>Part I: <em>

_"And now all your love will be exorcised  
>And we will find you saying it's to be harmonized.<br>And it's an even sum."_

* * *

><p>"Who'd you piss off now?"<p>

Faye was in a nasty mood, more than usual due to her new conquest: Lee.

Cassie and Adam stood before the three of them, Melissa on Diana's right side where she looked less than curious to find out what they'd been called for. Something serious, according to Cassie. Diana had done her share of convincing to get Faye to come along with her and Melissa. If she was honest with herself, she knew it was because being alone with Cassie and Adam sounded about as much fun as jumping off a cliff head first. But with the tone in Cassie's voice came a foreboding. A kind that left Diana without a hint of knowing whether or not to panic now, or later.

"It was before our time," Cassie began saying. "A witch put a curse on our families."

"What kind of curse?" Diana asked, hating the fact that she felt cold even though her skin was warm underneath her clothing.

Adam answered, finally choosing to speak. "Apparently to keep our families from coming together."

The foreboding was forgotten.

Diana had an idea to what that meant, but she didn't want to face it. She didn't want to know anything about _anything_. On the outside, she remained motionless, her breathing even stilled. But in her mind, she was kicking and screaming something fierce.

"Last night... W- We activated it," Cassie forced herself to say.

Cassie wouldn't meet her eyes, which was decent because Diana had no idea what her face was doing. It was a slap in the face by the person she'd thought of most as a best friend, and the supposed love of her life. Even though Adam looked slightly uncomfortable, there was no regret or apology in his eyes. Adam had moved on, and pretty fast at that. Her termoil of emotional thoughts were cut short at the sound of Faye. Diana looked over to see Faye's hand slap over her mouth. She was in shock, but was excited at the gossip that was being handed over, rather than her having to investigate and put her nose where it didn't belong.

"So, you two finally graduated from hand holding and smooching. Congrats." The small piece of juicy news that had made her giddy was gone from Faye in an instant as she grew annoyed. "What does that mean for any of us?"

"It affects the _whole_ circle," Cassie explained, her sharp tone pointed right at Faye.

"How?" Melissa asked.

"My grandmother said that one of us might die."

Diana's heart dropped to her stomach.

Faye was less impressed. "No offense, but the last time I saw your grandma, she was a little-"

"Faye..." Diana quickly cut her off before she said anything mean about a woman who couldn't help her sickness. Besides that, it was a sensitive thing for Cassie. She had no one left afterall, except her slightly sketchy father who was back in town for who knew how long.

"This is no joke," Cassie reminded Faye.

Melissa quickly blurted, "I _have_ been feeling kinda tired."

Diana instantly added, "I wasn't feeling that great this morning."

"Uh-uh," Faye argued. "No one is dying! It's just a story your great-greats told their kids so they wouldn't have sex. It's abstinence education at work."

With the word said allowed, Diana felt slightly queezy in hearing it. Sex. Cassie and Adam had slept together. There it was. Out in the open.

Faye on the other hand, was perfectly fine and determined to find out about Lee, if there was even anything to figure out. He was probably pulling a _Jake_ on her, but Diana didn't have the heart to tell her that she should have pulled away from him a bit. Then again, the last time Diana saw him, he was all over Faye. It had seemed he was into her just as much as she was him.

Stopping before the doorway, Faye turned around to see no one was following. "Are you two coming?" She snapped.

Melissa fixed her jacket on her arm and gave an apologetic glance to Cassie. "She's dealing with psycho-ex drama..."

Diana hesitated between just leaving the two to figure it out on their own, hoping they'd find a way to fix whatever situation they landed all of them in, or to stay and make sure it was done. Faye raised her eyebrows expectantly, but when Diana sighed, Faye must have seen the surrender in her body language. And more than likely the reluctancy in her face.

Faye shook her head. "Fine. Have fun dealing with your sad and demented triangle. See you later."

The room suddenly felt very large, and her very small.

"Faye's right," Adam started saying, pulling Diana from her woeful thoughts. "No one's dying." He didn't look, nor sound convinced.

Cassie glanced at Diana, then to Adam. "I still haven't heard from Jake."

It took a few seconds for Diana to realize they were staring at her.

"What?" And then it clicked. "Oh, no. No, no, _no way_."

Cassie put on a pleading face, her blue eyes large and innocent looking. "I need to talk to my dad and-"

Diana thrusted a hand out to Adam. "Why don't you go? You at least know him better than I do!"

Adam looked a little disgusted and even more so, disappointed that Diana would have even suggested it.

"It's not my place to just be like, _Hey Jake, how's the curse?_ How do we even know he's the one who's affected?" Diana argued.

"That's why we need to go and find out."

"And by _we_ you mean _me_." It wasn't a question and Cassie didn't take it as one.

"You don't have to tell him anything. Just tell him that something's up, and he needs to come over to my house."

Diana scoffed, tossing her arms out until they hit back at her sides. She was between a rock and a hard place and she felt it wouldn't be for the last time that day. "Jake's not exactly the kind to just _go with the flow_. He's going to figure me out. I'm not good at lying."

"That's not true," Adam cut in. "You're excellent at lying..." Without meaning to, Adam had brought up memories between them, and Diana simply wouldn't face them. "He won't know anything. Do you know how long it took for me to tell you were lying?"

"_Fine_," Diana snapped, not wanting to hear anymore. Or rather, she couldn't take hearing anymore.

She couldn't be angry with them. At the end of the day, she cared for them both, even if it felt like they'd completely disregarded her feelings. She knew she had to be resonable. They weren't going out of their way to hurt her. Sure, they weren't being very gentle, but she didn't want to be coddled. And Adam knew that about her. Better to have it straight than to be lied to.

"Jake's room is-"

"I know where Jake's room is." Diana said, cutting Cassie off. She instantly stopped herself right there on the sidewalk after they'd arrived back at Cassie's. Adam was thankfully unlocking the front door with Cassie's keys, out of hearing distance.

"I'm sorry. I'm..." Her voice trailed, not knowing how to say she was hurt, angry, and confused by a boy she'd grown up loving. Things had changed. Before, she could say little things here and there, and Cassie would nod as she listened. Now, Diana felt if she said anything, it'd be digging them into an even deeper awkward hole.

"I know. And I'm sorry, too."

Diana grinned back at Cassie, feeling like she could eventually find the silver lining to the dark cloud that seemed to be hovering over her.

* * *

><p><em>Part II: <em>

_"Seven devils all around you  
>Seven devils in my house<br>See they were there when I woke up this morning  
>I'll be dead before the day is done."<em>

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><p>He wasn't sure what was waking him this time.<p>

Earlier, it was the sudden fever and the rush of cold moisture that had spread over his skin. Following closely after was the severe aching in his body, accompanied by the massive headache. And before all of that still, there were the dreams...

Spiders being formed in the palm of his hands which he held open in front of his dream-version of Cassie. It were as if he was displaying all of his dark sins to her. The snakes in another dream, had him following them into the clutter of trees that cut out any and all light. They whispered to him behind the hollows of trees, like some twisted and screwed up Harry Potter scene.

This time it was a bit different.

He pushed himself up, swinging his legs around as he tried expanding his hearing range, trying to get a single word from the mixture of voices around him. Jake couldn't tell if they were in his head, or in the room _with_ him.

He didn't know which would have been worse.

The hushed voices went into instant silence, like someone had flipped a switch, when his door opened. Out of anyone, he'd expected Cassie to have barged in; she'd done it before. But he did a double take, seeing an unfamiliar form enter his room and instantly made him turn sideways.

She made a series of noises that Jake chalked up to embarrassment.

"I'm..._really_ sorry. I- I was knocking, and you didn't answer so I thought something happened..." Her eyes darted around the room, her body turning in different directions as if she didn't know what to do with herself.

Jake felt like shit, so he wasn't about to give one with Diana having a heart-attack over barging in on him in his underwear.

"What in the world are you doing here?" He bent down, resting his elbows on his thighs as he tried to settle the teeter-tottering of his room.

"I'm supposed to check on you."

"Check on me? What for?"

"Were you sleeping?"

"That's typically what one does when they're alone in their own bed." Which wasn't completely right considering he could come up with a few opposite things, but he wasn't about to say it to Diana Meade, half naked, alone in a bedroom. "I'm getting sick, or I'm already sick and it's getting worse. I feel like crap, been having weird dreams..." He was rambling and he wasn't sure why. His brain and mouth weren't connecting with eachother normally.

Her shoes thumped over the floor as she walked over to him, apparently forgetting her unease with him showing so much skin.

"What _is_ that?"

Jake frowned, looking around himself until she grabbed his arm, turning it so he could see what she was talking about. At first, it looked like a drawing. A tree with only the branches drawn along his forearm, but it wasn't a drawing at all. In fact, it looked like his veins had risen just underneath the surface of his skin. That wouldn't have startled or worried him as much if they weren't so dark. Like a poison was seeping into his body.

He looked up at Diana, her fear apparent on her face, and in her eyes. He could see it clearly when they lifted to look into his own.

She dropped his arm, stepping back as if remembering how much she disliked him. How much of an unknown person to her he was.

"Cassie wanted you to come to her place."

But she'd sent Diana? Of all people?

"Why didn't she come here herself?"

"Because..." Diana shook her hair out of her face, stepping back a bit. She waved a hand at the door. "Just, come over as soon as possible. It's urgent."

"Apparently it is. You just said _urgent_."

"Jake, this isn't a joke. Something bad's going on, and-"

"What is it?" He wasn't about to beat around the bush. Whatever it was, he wanted it _now_. "What's bad?"

She sighed, trying to advert her eyes when he stood to get clothes. "I'll just meet you at Cassie's."

Jake watched Diana, keeping notes on the way she was acting along with what she was saying. Her face turned pink at the sound of him pulling up his zipper after he'd managed to get his jeans on. She wasn't even looking at him, and she was embarrassed. And it wasn't some girlish act she was putting on, either. Diana Meade had always seemed beyond her years, but it was still strange to see a teenage girl acting like...a lady.

"No, you won't," he told her, sounding as if he were sure she was going to listen, but he wasn't.

She sighed again, but didn't argue him on it. He was thankful since he felt sick enough, having off-course thoughts, hearing voices... He didn't feel like dealing with someone challenging him just to prove they could handle him. Or was he just too used to those types of people?

He pulled the shirt over his head and reached for his hoodie when he misstepped, hitting his shoulder into the wall. Agitated now, he yanked his hoodie on, feeling a hand that was much too delicate for his liking. He yanked his arm away, turning his eyes down on Diana, slightly appalled at her for trying to comfort him.

"I'm not someone you have to worry about _mothering_." He didn't mean it in the dry and harsh tone that it came out in, but with the way he was feeling, apologizing would have been a useless amount of time and breath.

Diana's mouth opened as if she were about to retort with something just as harsh, but her face softened after she breathed in.

"Fair enough," she replied simply.

Jake, already dazed and feeling worn down with having done nothing but get out of his bed, stared down at her in confusion. He had flat out been an asshole to her, and she hadn't taken it personally, nor had she let herself get angry with him.

"You're _always_ like this, aren't you?" He hadn't meant to ask, but the filter in his mouth was proving by the minute to have taken a vacation.

"Like _what_, Jake?" She asked on a deep sigh.

He felt his nose scrunching as he pulled on his boots. "_Good_." With his second boot on, he glanced up at her from the edge of his bed he'd sat on. Her arms were folded over her chest, but otherwise, she seemed calm. "What are you trying to prove? And to who? Adam?" Something was egging him on, telling him with a smile that breaking down the brightness in Diana, searching for the dark, would add to some unknown accomplishment.

"Some people just try to be the better version of themselves, Jake. You should try it sometime."

Try to be a better version of himself? He couldn't even imagine where to start, let alone if he even _had_ a better version of himself.

She turned and walked to the door, but he wasn't done with their arguing. It kept him distracted from the random pain that kept coming, and that was a good enough reason for him. The voices kept away, hearing his own voice and someone else's.

He wondered when he'd finally strike her nerve; what exactly would make her go off? Rage resided in everyone. Some just found tapped into it easier than others. Diana Meade was no different.

"And some people put up a front because they're the ones with the deepest secrets," he told her.

She turned to face him in the doorway, not backing away when he leaned down into her face.

His was voice condenscending. "What exactly _is_ Little Miss Perfect hiding?"

For a moment, he thought she was finally going to get mean. Her eyes narrowed and her smile definetly wasn't on the _kind_ side.

"Now I completely understand why you and Faye didn't work out. She's the female version of you."

* * *

><p><em>Part III:<br>__  
>"And they take your souls<em>  
><em>And what have we done?<br>Can it be undone?"_

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><p>Jake stood back against the wall, his skin beginning to look dewy, the shadows under his eyes looking darker by the minute. He was losing the control he always had in his face, and his mind was beginning to follow suit. It was enough to make it clear he was the one being affected. <em>Why<em>, remained to be a constant question in the forefront of her mind.

"So, what am I here for?"

Adam had put distance between Jake and himself. Diana couldn't help but wonder if it was so he could see Jake's reaction coming at him. Jake was certainly a guy of few words. His actions spoke louder. Not to mention his very presence, which weighed on her shoulders like a heavy backpack.

"It's a curse," Adam repeated in the same way Diana had heard from Cassie, just an hour earlier.

Cassie went on to explain, "On our families. If a Blake and a Conant..." She paused, looking back at Adam, more than likely for help, but what she obviously didn't know was Adam wasn't strong in that respect. He had already mentally prepared himself for Jake reacting, not to explain himself to someone he basically loathed.

"_If a Blake and a Conant_, what?" Jake hurried along, waiting with a hard expression on his face. Probably more from some sort of physical and mental pain that none of them had any real idea about.

"Uh..." Cassie's expression showed her trying to think of a way to lay it out.

Diana couldn't help but turn her eyes on Jake. To gage his reaction and see if his was in the same relation to her own. At least he was getting a much softer version of the information.

Jake's frown fell, his eyebrows lifting from being pulled together in thought as he raised his chin.

He'd put it together on his own. And now he looked more fed up than anything.

"How am _I_ dragged into this?" In afterthought, he actually looked to Diana. She was thankful for the more gentle look he gave towards her, but that didn't make anything better. If anything, he probably felt _bad_ for her. Her only boyfriend for years, whom she'd been in love with, had dropped her as if she'd never existed. It was a small ounce of _pity_ Jake felt, if anything. "And why's Diana in this?" He let the anger in his voice rise, turning his hard glare on Cassie and Adam then. "What do _we_ have to do with what you two do in your free time?"

"The curse is someone in the circle could die," Adam admitted in a quick manner.

Jake's jaw set, his body tensing. He might have looked angry, but Diana figured it was fear. Anger just happened to be his easiest emotion to reach. To use in time's when he wasn't sure how to act, or what to show.

Cassie jumped in then. "Whatever it is, we will find a way to keep it from spreading."

"It took a curse to figure out being with Adam was a colossal mistake?"

Diana stared at him, in awe of how simple it was for him to speak his mind when it truly mattered. His bravery in ignoring, or simply not caring, how a person would feel or act towards you after you laid out the truth. It was a confidence someone was naturally born with, rather than learned to master on their own. A true knowing of oneself.

She wondered how empowering something like that would feel.

Cassie's dad called out, gaining everyone's attention. It was obvious they were all relieved.

"Hey... I think I found the way to fix this." As they walked over, John bent the Blake's Book of Shadows for Cassie and Adam to glance at. Diana stopped herself from fitting in where she didn't belong. Normally, she would have taken control of the situation; used to being the leader for her circle, but this wasn't her battle to fight. She was simply there to help.

"This is a recipe for an elixir that Amelia tracked down," he continued saying. "I think this'll break the curse."

"If she had an elixir, why didn't she use it?"

Diana knew Adam was talking about his own father and Amelia. John looked Adam straight in the eye, seemingly a bit thrown by his honesty.

"I don't know..."

"Who cares?" Jake shadowed in, picking another wall to lean against. It was becoming more and more apparent that he was doing it to lessen the use of his muscles. "Let's just do it."

"These are rare ingredients," John told them after taking the book back to look over. "But there's a dealer in town, Calvin Wilson. Owns an antiquites shop."

At the corner of Diana's eye, she could see Jake oddly pick himself back up from against the wall.

"We _must_ have something at the abandoned house." There was more character in his voice than there had been since his first words. It made her pay closer attention to him, but she kept her mouth shut. "My brother grew a lot of weird plants," Jake said, his voice going softer.

John handed Cassie's book back, giving Jake a look Diana couldn't quite figure out.

"I think Calvin's our best option," he said in a daring way to Jake, his eyes still on him. As if he suspected something of him.

Diana did, too. Especially with the worried expression Jake had, turning his face away from all of them. It was strangely vunerable of him, and it didn't sit naturally with his character. She followed him out of the house with the rest of them close behind.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** **None of the characters, places, or lyrics involved in this fic belong to me.**

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><p><strong>Chapter Two<strong>

* * *

><p><em>Part I:<em>

_"I don't want your money  
>I don't want your crowd<br>See, I have to burn  
>Your kingdom down."<em>

* * *

><p>The bell rang on the door as Cassie's father opened it, signifying the shop had a visitor.<p>

Or five...

"Hello?" John called out, crossing the floor in the same fashion as he normally did. As if he was forever aware of everything around him. As if there was no chance for anyone to catch him off-guard. As if when everyone's eyes were turned, he'd been there before...

A girl came out of the backroom, her hair long, dark and shiny.

"Hi," Cassie's father greeted, a surprisingly friendly tone to his voice. "We're here to see Calvin."

"My Uncle's not here," she told them.

Diana looked at Jake beside her, watching him slink away, obviously not wanting to be seen.

"Do you know when he'll be back?"

"He's been missing for months, but I'm sure I can help you."

Between the time they'd left Cassie's, to the time they'd arrived at the shop, Jake had somehow gotten worse. Much worse. His skin now looked sallow, sticky even. The shadow's under his eyes were now dark circles with a purplish undertone. He was becoming more sullen as the day grew, and Diana could sense, rather than actually see, the isolating place his mind was putting him in.

"I'm sorry to hear that," John told the young woman as Diana slowly stepped towards Jake, watching him turn his eyes on her. She lifted her hand to feel his face, and for a single second he let her. But that was all the time she was allowed as he fiercly flinched away like her hand had burned him.

It was easy to ignore his reaction with her mind on the fact that he wasn't even warm. The cold sweat wasn't a good sign, nor did it feel like a normal cold. It were as if something inside of him was sucking the warmth from his flesh.

She hadn't fully believed in the story about some _curse _put on the Conant's and the Blake's, but with each passing minute, Jake was significantly worse.

It was _real_, and the actualization of it hit her sideways.

The quiet in the room made Diana take her worrying eyes from Jake to the rest of them. Calvin Wilson's niece was staring at Jake. Her eyes taking note of how bad he looked, which acted as some sort of pass for them.

"Come with me," she said, walking into the very room she had come out of.

They all followed, Jake morosely walking a few steps behind.

"We have everything but lethe root," she told them, taking things down from a shelf against a wall. "It's very rare."

"Does it grow around here?" Cassie asked her.

"It used to. In Harbor woods..."

John turned to Cassie then. "Might be able to find some if you, uh, go deep enough."

Calvin's niece cut in then. "It mostly grows inside trees hollowed out by rot or age."

Jake's back was turned, making Diana wonder why he was so eager to keep from looking at the girl. Had he known her somehow? Maybe during his witch hunter days, which really weren't that far from the day they were in.

"All right," Adam said. "Cassie and I will go."

Diana's mouth popped open, but she had no idea what to say, much less what she'd sound like if she actually did say it. They'd go and she'd be left to what, babysit?

"And we'll put the rest of the ingredients together and get the elixir ready," John suggested to the girl.

She knew something like this would have eventually happened. Between Adam and Cassie stood nothing. Except for this curse, nothing else existed for them. Diana marveled over that. Once upon a time, she would have insisted that very statement explained her and Adam. But seeing this first hand was like an unadultered aspersion against their very relationship. She was discovering the strong differences between loving someone, and being _in_ love with them. Letting Adam go was for herself of course, but it was also for him. By letting him find out what there was with Cassie, maybe he'd find the things he needed rested in Diana, and Diana alone. Him and Cassie were so utterly different that part of her said it wouldn't be able to last.

She was proving to be entirely wrong.

Instead of not being able to find a likeness in Cassie, he'd found the very things he was lacking and severely needed. Only right then was Diana aware of both the pain and eventual hope that came with this realization. Being _in_ love was the consistency of _needing_ that person, and though she loved Adam, she was getting on fine without him. Missing him, the comfort and security his presence offered by simply knowing him, was the very core of her pain. More than she missed him, she hungered for the love she knew existed for her somewhere, in someone.

Cassie's father followed Calvin's niece into the back, already starting on what they needed in order to make the elixir.

As both Cassie and Adam turned, ready to begin whatever journey they were about to set out on, Jake jolted forward.

"I'll go with you-" His voice stopped short on a cough that he put into the sleeve of his hoodie. His voice strained, but he pushed through it, trying to make himself appear fine though anyone could see he wasn't. "I really wanna make sure that we find this root."

Diana couldn't blame him.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Cassie asked him, her eyes slightly narrowing as she stared up at him.

"If only you'd asked yourself that last night."

Cassie's eyes hit Diana's, which she had Diana turning her gaze straight ahead of her.

Like the desperation in finding the root for Jake, she was just as desperate to get it over and done with so she could go back to her own personal problems. Free from the hurt. Free from the inner insecurity she was working hard to shadow over. Being here was a sort of test, she knew. So far, she was doing better than expected.

"Let it go," she flatly told Jake, following alongside Diana who'd chosen not to stick around and listen to anymore of their soap opera play out.

When she glanced back, she noticed Jake wasn't with them. Cassie passed her, walking through the door Adam was holding open. She sighed, realizing that with Adam and Cassie also came a blind eye.

As she walked back her eyes caught Jake muttering something at one of the mirrors on the wall, his face shocked pale and terrified.

"Jake?" Diana called out, uncrossing her arms as she approached him. He looked down at her, trying to fix his expression, but not without fail. "C'mon," she spoke carefully, correcting herself before she reached out to him again. She wasn't sure if it was because of the condition he was in, or simply because she was trying to be nice, but either way, it was hard to keep from helping someone in need of it.

As he walked out with her, he shoved his hands in his pockets, managing to keep up a normal pace. Even with his obvious vunerability, she could see he was fighting to keep his pride.

In the backseat of Cassie's car, Diana watched out of the corner of her eye as Jake tried for discretion in lifting his sleeve. The look on his face in seeing how much the strange design had spread over his forearm, wasn't missed. Death was greeting him with swift bat-like wings that leaked with black poison, and he was absorbing the very actualization of it all. Like a demon swimming through his veins, spreading its own version of justice that was taking over Jake's body without an ounce of his control.

Jake turned his eyes on Diana, and she watched the hope drain from his eyes in absolution.

* * *

><p><em>Part II:<em>

_"Holy water cannot help you now;  
>I'm gonna raise the stakes, I'm gonna smoke you out." <em>

* * *

><p>Reminiscing isn't a choice when you have nothing to reminisce about.<p>

In the darkest of times, this is when one would hold onto their collection of fond memories. When one would would fight for the light in their lives. But the only light Jake could seek out was the very source that bled darkness. Cassie- who'd managed to get him to _care_ about something. At one point, they'd been traveling down the same road. Now, they were on seperate sides of the state. And with the way he was feeling, he didn't feel like he was on the same planet anymore, let alone in the same state.

"You guys as cold as I am?"

"Yes," Adam answered without bothering to hide the amount of irritance he had. Cassie's same answer also dripped with the irritation.

Stepping over a large fallen tree trunk that had probably been there since before he was even born, he glanced up to see the back of Diana's head shaking. At least he wasn't alone in feeling that both Cassie and Adam should have maybe been a little bit nicer, considering what they'd caused.

Sure, it wasn't intentionally done, but it was hard not to take it all personally.

"Maybe we're _all_ dying," Jake said then.

He was sure he'd never talked so much in his whole life, but he couldn't control it.

"You know, you can still go back to town. We don't mind. At all," Adam suggested freely.

"He can't go anywhere alone, Adam." Diana's own annoyance towards Adam and Cassie, and more than likely the day in general, was finally beginning to show itself.

"And miss out on this amazing bonding opportunity?" He could feel that his whole demenor had changed within the fourty-plus minutes they'd spent hiking through the woods. "_No_." Diana glanced back at Jake who was trudging only a few steps behind her, ignoring how she tried to obscure the way she slowed so he could catch up. It was beginning to get on his nerves.

"So, tell me," he began saying, not able to help the way the words simply spilled from his lips. "How was your first time?" Diana stopped, spinning around before Adam's steps had even slowed. Jake slowed his already tedious steps as well. "Was it sweet and romantic? Or did Little Miss Bad Girl bring her _nasty_ game?"

Adam stomped forward, his ears would have been blowing smoke had he been the cartoon version of himself. He thrusted his finger up into Jake's face, only one small push away from completely losing it. Diana stepped after him, trying to get his attention, but he rolled his shoulder out from under her hand. "I don't care if you're sick," he practically spat.

"Yeah, that much is obvious." Jake told him flatly. "And it's no thanks to you, _buddy_."

Diana instantly bent her head back, as if talking to the sky. "For the love of-"

"Stop it!" Cassie yelled out over whatever curse, or non-curse Diana had let out.

Adam harshly swat Cassie's hand away after she grabbed his arm, attempting to turn him away from Jake. Diana stood in place, her arms going from crossed to holding herself.

"Having fun yet?" He asked her. She simply stared at him.

"Why're you doing this?" Cassie's blue eyes were void of any and all fault for what she'd caused him to look like. If it touched anywhere close to how he felt, then he probably looked like a crazed escapee from an insane asylum with a terminal illness, and months worth for lack of sleep.

"Just trying to make conversation," Jake said, putting his hands up in surrender. "Shouldn't you be more excited to talk about this wonderous event?" His voice raised at the end as well as his eyes towards Adam. He looked back down at Cassie. "I know _I'm_ enjoying this, what about you, Diana?"

"We don't have time for this," she simply said, not choosing to humor him.

"You're jealous," Cassie said, a smirk in her voice as well as on her face.

Jake could feel his head give a small shake at how little care she was showing. If she did at all.

Still, a sired-effect stirred inside of him in regards to Cassie. She was, after all, the one who showed him he actually had a heart.

"Deep down, you know that it's you and me that should be together."

"You're wrong," she told him in a definet tone before turning away from him.

"I know you don't believe that," he tried. Cassie's face held the same expression.

"Guys, lets go," Adam said impatiently.

He watched her go, noticing the way Diana was looking at him. Like she understood on some level what he was going through with Cassie, whatever that was. But him and Diana had about as much likeness as the sun and moon. Day and night. Hell, even dogs and cats. The list was endless. He was nothing like her.

"Hold on," Jake told them after clearing his throat. "I need some water." He bent down, opening up his backpack as he coughed. It wasn't even that his throat bothered him, though it was dry. More than anything, it was his body that hurt. As if a cough was the only way it could express its pain.

Jake's stomach dropped and his muscles tightened in defense as he looked over to the three of them, wondering who it was that was trying for a laugh.

"What the hell..."

"What? What's wrong now?" Adam asked, obviously up to his throat in aggravation.

Jake didn't give a damn.

"This," Jake said, thrusting out the small bottle. "It's a witch cruet..." His voice raised, as well as his temper. "Who put this in my bag?"

"Jake-" Diana began, but was cut short.

"What're you talking about?" Cassie asked as if completely ignorant to what he was holding.

"Did you get this from Calvin's?" He yelled. "Is this some kind of a sick joke?" I'm not a witch hunter anymore!" He screamed, throwing down the bottle as hard as he could manage, watching as it shattered before his feet.

He breathed hard through his nose, contemplating who it could have been. His eyes skipped over Diana, instantly suspecting Cassie or Adam. They'd be ones to have a laugh out of his expense. Adam had probably come up with the idea. He looked back at Diana who's face looked startled and slightly confused.

Maybe it had been her and he'd been quick to bypass that possibility. He stomped up to her, keeping his face close to hers even as she tried backing away from him until her back reached a tree.

"Was that why you were in my room this morning? To plant this?"

"Jake!" Cassie yelled from behind him somewhere, but he was certain it was Diana now.

"Yeah, it's always the least likely suspect." His voice was low enough for her to hear, but anyone else would be lost to his words. "I knew you were keeping face for something else. What is it?"

"Jake," he caught movement to the side of him, but his eyes were too busy boring into Diana's brown ones. She had her chin turned up to him, but he could see the fear there, her conscious closing in on her.

_"Say something,"_ he told her through his teeth.

Still, she said nothing. Her eyes never left his, as if trying to let him see she had nothing to hide.

His mind was whispering things to him he didn't understand, or hear clearly enough. He thought it was _himself _that was the one convinced she was an enemy of sorts. She was the darkest of them all, with secrets she kept for demons. The ones that had been talking to him that morning. But he faultered, stepping back as he looked her over, his vision blurring for a moment. It wasn't that he was the one convinced. It was something _else_ trying to convince him. Adam held a water container in his face when he stepped back even more, turning away from his realizations.

"This is not a witch cruet," Adam told him.

Jake staggered until his shoulder bumped against the tree Diana had been standing against, and he let himself sink down onto the thick roots that disappeared beneath the dirt's surface.

"He's hallucinating," Adam said ominously as Diana bent down, putting her hand to his face gingerly.

Cassie bent down as well, pulling down the dropped neck of his shirt. Diana gasped as Cassie looked up at Adam, showcasing just how bad off he really was. He couldn't see, but by following their reactions, he'd bet money to say he was hitting close to _beyond repair_. Jake looked back and forth between the two, a thankful ease settling over his dazed mind as he stared at Cassie. But the other set of hands besides Cassie's, caused him to turn his gaze on Diana, unsure of how to act. He'd basically attacked her, and yet here she was, worried and fussing over him like he was a fallen baby bird.

It was things like this which made it impossible to trust her. No one was that selfless. No one was consistant in their caring about others rather than themselves. Unless you had made a deal with the devil...

"He's finally broken whatever chill he had," Diana began saying, her voice too soft for his comfort. "He's got a fever now, and it's way too high." She pulled her hand from him when she took notice of Jake's eyes on her. He was trying to balance the difference between good and evil. Evil came in pretty forms most times because temptation was the greatest weakness in all human beings. And since Diana was beautiful, it only added to his distrust in her.

"We have to hurry," Adam stated, already moving along as Cassie grabbed one of Jake's arms to help lift him. He let her, but he wasn't pleased with it.

* * *

><p><em>Part III:<em>

_"In the evil's heart  
>In the evil's soul."<em>

* * *

><p>She could have lived the rest of her life without having ever seen the way Jake had looked at her.<p>

Never in her life had she ever done anything ill-mannered towards someone. She made a point of being the better person; a person someone could come to rather than dislike on any level. She knew it really had nothing to do with her, but being singled out the way she had, without knowing how far Jake was going to take it, was hard to wave a hand at.

Jake's movements were slower now, causing Cassie to leave him behind and walk beside Adam, both of which were making a point to be reluctantly looking for the specific root they needed. Diana was keeping a safe enough distance from Jake now. She wasn't scared of him as much as she just flat out didn't want to be taken by surprise. As the sun had gone down, Jake had checked on Diana from over his shoulder less and less. Maybe the hallucinations, the muddied thoughts he must have been having, were dying down.

She wasn't sure that was a good thing or a bad one. Did them fading mean he was as well? Or was it all simply building until he exploded, much like a volcano would?

When Jake came to a complete stop, so did Diana. His head jerked, as if someone were speaking to him, and she held her breath.

"You okay, Jake?" Adam asked after hearing his murmers.

"I'm fine," Jake rushed. But he wasn't _fine_. "Shut up," he whispered furiously as Diana carefully approached him. "Shut up."

"Jake?" Adam and Diana said in unison, Cassie stayed where she was, waiting with an impatient air about her.

He went from glancing around him to staring at Adam, but Diana could see he wasn't really seeing him.

"Stay away from me, Calvin," he warned.

"Jake," Diana's voice whined, not knowing what they were going to do if Jake completely lost his mind.

Adam's head shook up at Jake. "It's _me_. Adam."

Jake started panting, seeing something none of them could understand.

"I was just doing what the witch hunters told me to do!" He yelled out in a plea. His eyes full of anguish.

It was all coming together. The way Jake had acted earlier when Cassie's dad had suggested going to Calvin's shop. How he acted when they'd gotten there. And with this... Both of Diana's hands went to her mouth to keep from gasping, or crying out, she didn't know which.

Suddenly, Jake's whole body changed in an instant. All this time he'd been getting weaker and weaker, but suddenly his shoulders straightened and his face fell. He went from standing still, to having Adam's collar clenched in his fists, basically lifting him off the ground, all happening in a blink.

_"I HAD NO CHOICE." _He spoke furociously through grinding teeth, instantly swinging Adam around, fighting for the position of control.

Diana screamed out to them, not paying the least bit of attention to what she'd said, or if she'd even said words at all. Her body was telling her to do something, but her mind was screaming at her to keep her distance.

Adam held his own for a while, until Jake pulled out strength from his adrenaline, lifting Adam right off of his feet to flip him onto the ground with a large thump. Diana rushed over then, screaming at Jake who had obviously left them. She practically had to climb onto him to get ahold of Jake in anyway, watching his large hands make their way for Adam's neck.

_"No!"_ Cassie bellowed out to them, but Diana didn't have room for any other thought than getting Jake, or rather the shell of him, off of Adam.

"Cassie! Cassie, no! No dark magic!" Adam yelled through his lack of air. Diana was wrestling against Jake, managing to get one arm in her grasp before he would try to shove her off, working his hand back to Adam's throat. "Focus on me! Look at me! No dark magic!"

Diana glanced over at Cassie, seeing her face change completely. Adam finally began to choke and Diana's desperation caused her to cry out, yanking Jake's hand away enough to let Adam suck a single breath of air in before Jake was able to cut it off again.

Whether it was the three of them, or simply Adam and Cassie, Jake was flung from Adam. Diana flung only halfway since she had been on top of his back. She landed on her shoulder, rolling onto her back before hearing a series of thumps that followed from Jake's large body being tossed.

She pushed herself into a sitting position, looking in Jake's direction where he laid completely still. Clinging to Adam's arm when he'd bent to help her up, she was up and running to Jake's lifeless looking body, fearing the absolute worst. She almost sighed a breath of relief when she both felt a pulse, and could hear him breathing roughly.

"He thought I was-" Adam didn't even finish his statement. But he added, "Jake killed him. He killed Calvin Wilson."

His face was banged up pretty badly, and she had no idea of he'd broken anything.

"Jake..." Diana whispered, unable to calm her shaking hands.

"Diana, get away from him. He could wake up and try it again and I won't bother holding back if he does."

"He's knocked out, Adam! He's hardly a threat at the moment."

"Well, that thought got my throat squeezed by his damn hands..."

Jake's eyes opened and at first, he didn't seem to see anything, but his head lifted and he looked at Diana. Adam rushed forward, still on edge.

"Jake?" Diana asked, feeling Adam right over her shoulder.

He groaned, a few curse words spat out into the air before he tried getting himself up. Diana grabbed his shoulder, lifting him even though he tried turning against her. "I don't think you're in any position to deny my help at this point. Swallow your pride and get over it." He groaned in response, but it was mostly due to the multiple pains he probably had in his body. Adam had to help at that point, his mouth formed in a straight line as he lifted Jake's arm from Diana's small and weaker shoulder, helping Jake to stagger along as Diana rushed ahead with Cassie.

"I'm sorry," Jake muttered as Adam set him down beside one of the rotted trees in the area they'd finally reached. Diana sat a few feet away, letting Adam and Cassie be the ones to dig up the roots since they'd already started it. It wasn't until the third rotted, broken down tree trunk they'd searched until they found the leefe root.

"Got it," Cassie said as Adam kept the flashlight on it. She started cutting at it, her voice low but heard still from where both Jake and Diana sat, which wasn't far. Jake's breathing was harsh, his eyes opening and closing on their own accord as his head lolled back and forth against the wood of the tree.

He mumbled something she couldn't understand, and decided to cut Adam and Cassie's precious conversation short.

"Jake's not getting any better, guys."

They both turned their eyes on her, but she was too fed up to even bother trying to be decent. She wondered if it were her, would they have taken their sweet time? Or maybe it was because it was just Jake? Either way, he was a human being and the way they were going about this felt rediculous to her.

Diana warned Cassie she was taking off her seatbelt when they'd all finally gotten to the car.

Cassie glanced back at her in the rearview mirror. "Why?"

Scooting across the backseat, Diana pushed aside her instinct to keep her distance. She pulled Jake, with some difficulty, from the door his head was vibrating against, to her shoulder which ended up being the whole side of her body. Jake was tall, but she'd never considered how wide his shoulders were in comparison to hers. Or how much more weight he had. Still, she kept his slumped body as comfortable as she could during the car ride. Trying to make sense of what he was mumbling about. All she got from him was _better dead _and she didn't know if he meant Calvin, or himself.

With the knowledge she now had in learning he'd killed Calvin, she'd have expected to keep as far away from him as possible. She wasn't sure if it was the fact that he was _dying_, or if it was because he was just so...increadibly _lost_, that made her take responsibility in helping him.

Either way, she wasn't about to let his parents deaths be in vain.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** **This is purely fan fiction. None of the characters, places, or lyrics used in this fic are mine.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Three<strong>

* * *

><p><em>Part I:<em>

_"They can keep me alive  
>'Til I tear the walls<br>'Til I slave your hearts."_

* * *

><p>He knew that voice; his mother's voice.<p>

It was soft, and so gentle. The only voice he'd ever considered worth listening to, even if it had no meaning. Even if it held no point. _"I know,"_ he called out in response to her. He'd been floating in and out of conciousness, the pain and power way stronger than himself. Her voice was perfectly clear; safe. A voice of reason among a crowded room filled with so many inhuman words.

She was there to tell him she knew about the things he'd done. The wrong choices he'd made, but still, she forgave him.

That meant she knew of the murderer he'd become. He knew he was better dead than living, but she disagreed. _"I can't be like you,"_ he cried to her. He couldn't be anything like his parents because he simply _wasn't_ anything like them. He wanted so badly to see her. To hold her and know what it felt like to be held by her in return. To know the feeling of the hug given by your father when you grow from his boy, into the man he raised you to be.

Jake thought with absolution that he was a disgrace to the _Armstrong_ name.

The pain was sharp, coming back to rip and pull a distance between his mother and himself.

Her voice was drowned out by the crowds of evil spirits; demonic whispers that egged on the darker side of himself. He cried out to her, but she was long gone, taking with her the peacefulness that she'd exuded.

He yelled out, jumping forward against arms that were trying to grasp his wild ones. His body was so sore, so weak that it was easy for him to be overpowered. His hearing came back to him, and he was freed at least for now; from the whispers in his head.

It was Diana's soft voice that was talking. "You're okay."

He laid back, without a bit of energy to even find out if she was right or not.

And God, how horrible to her he had been. Not that he'd had any control over it.

"Just lay back. They're putting everything together downstairs right now."

He listened to her, fighting to keep his eyes open as he watched her sit on the edge of the bed, putting something wet and cold against his face.

"What is that?" He croaked out, his voice sounding even more pathetic than he felt.

"A wash cloth. I'm just trying to make you comfortable for now."

He swallowed, but with how dry his throat was, it made no difference in help.

Diana moved the cloth to his temple, wiping along his hairline which made him close his eyes for a moment.

"Do you believe in Hell?" He asked her, his mouth's filter obviously still missing in action.

Her eyes finally looked at his and she seemed to take him seriously as she thought about it, her hand stilling against his forehead as she did.

"I don't know." After she began to move the cold cloth against the other side of his head, she looked at his eyes again. "Do you?"

"Yes."

She pulled the rag away, turning her body to better face him.

He was too tired to wonder why it was Diana he'd chosen to have the conversation with, but he was pretty sure it had something to do with knowing she had a free ride straight into Heaven.

"Jake-"

He stopped her before she could either agree with him, or flat out lie to him.

"I have voices in my head, telling me I'm going." She looked away from him for a moment, and he let his eyes close briefly. "I probably have a thrown set aside for me to sit on."

"It's the curse, Jake. They aren't actual voices of demons, or whatever you think they are. Your mind is fragile. When people have normal fevers from colds, they hallucinate, too. Become delirious depending on how high their temprature is... It's your brain; your concious playing tricks on you."

"Or there are actual demons asking me to come out and play fire frisbee with them."

She sighed, touching the cool rag to his face once again. His head rolled to the side, his eyes blinking tiredly. "Why're you doing this? Helping me..."

Without making eye contact with him, she answered, wiping the cloth along his neck.

"Because you need it," she answered flatly. "And I don't see anyone else here."

"Good point," he agreed.

"I'd like to think someone would do this for me," she told him honestly. "I would hope someone cared enough to."

"I would have hated to have been Adam..."

Her eyes finally locked onto his. "Gee, thanks."

With an attempt and fail at easing his throat, he tried to explain. "I just mean, if this is you caring, what do you do when you love someone? I wouldn't know what to do with that."

Her lips pursed slightly. "Well, you'd have to let someone beyond that fortress around your cold, stoney heart first."

He laid there, unable to smirk at her which he would have done normally. Then again, he probably wouldn't have been in this conversation with her in the first place.

"Fair enough," he told her, earning a small grin. "I don't deserve this."

"You're absolutely right. You don't." She lifted his head gently, placing the rag behind his neck before setting his head back down. "But you're getting it anyway." Diana pushed off of the bed, standing somewhere beside him. His eyes wouldn't stay open anymore.

"I still don't get it. You've never liked me..."

"That's not true, I just didn't know how to relate to you."

"And you do _now_? Are you kidding me?" He coughed, groaning at the aching that seemed to cover every square inch of his skin.

She sighed heavily. "Just sleep, Jake."

"Don't let them give me a wake," he told her, knowing that death was closer with every breath he took. The normally musky air of the abandoned house was now suddenly sweet to him.

"Oh, you'll have a wake, Jake. And I'll be the one throwing it."

He couldn't see her face, but he knew as he fell into unconsciousness once again, that she was smiling.

* * *

><p><em>Part II:<em>

_"And no rivers  
>And no lakes,<br>Can put the fire out."_

* * *

><p>Diana came back up with another rag, sitting alongside Jake who was laid out on the bed, wet with his own sweat. He somehow looked thinner, as if he'd been starved. She knew it was only because his skin, in result of his sickness, was pulled taut over his veins and tendons. His bones seemed harsh against his flesh, as if they would cut him open. His eyes were sunken in, the dark circles beneath them made it look like he'd been punched in each eye.<p>

She moved the cloth over his face, following over his chest where she laid it out beneath his tank top.

It was strange to think hours ago, she had been mortified to have found him in his underwear. Hours ago, she had been horrified in realizing he'd killed Calvin, and watching him attack Adam whom he'd _thought_ was Calvin. Now, with his death certificate basically written out, she didn't know what she felt, but she knew it had nothing to do with her mortification from earlier.

Adam came up, looking back and forth between her and Jake.

He was smart not to say anything. Or so she initially thought.

She wiped her hands along her dirty jeans and stood, walking passed him to the stairs. By the time she stepped down a single one, Adam had chosen to finally say what he'd been more than likely looking to say all day.

"Please tell me this is you doing what's best for the circle."

She sighed, her shoulders falling a little bit as she reached out for the railing to hold onto, turning to better face him. Pretending not to know what he was talking about would be useless.

"Going along with you guys today to find that root was me doing what was best for the circle. Me caring about someone's death, is just me. I'm sorry if that makes you uncomfortable, but I'm not just going to sit here while he suffers."

"I think he's done his share of making _others_ suffer. He's only getting back what he deserves."

"Probably, but I'm not the one to decide who pays what, for which price."

Adam's eyes narrowed at her as he stepped closer.

"If you hadn't come along with us today..." His voice trailed, as if still trying to find a way to word whatever he might have thought he'd figured out. "You never gave a rats ass about Jake before. Something changed today...what was it?"

"First of all, that's not true. Second, nothing's changed other than the fact that I've watched a human being suffering all day!"

"Has the curse affected you, too?"

_"What?"_

Adam nodded as if agreeing with his own thoughts. "You have feelings for Jake. _Jake_, Diana... Do you hear me?"

"I hear you, I just don't understand you. What's wrong with me helping someone?"

"Because you wouldn't have done it this way _unless_ you had feelings for him. Seeing him get a taste of his own dish made you soften towards him."

"Your absurd," she said disgustedly.

"_I'm_ absurd? He's not some lost puppy, Diana! You can't just bring him home and beg daddy to let you keep him!"

With a deep breath, she chose to speak in a lower tone. "I'm going to pretend you didn't say that to me." What had become of them? "And even if that were true, it wouldn't be any of your business anymore. You don't take me into consideration, so I'm returning the favor."

Adam's arms crossed over his chest as he stared at her, his face slowly dropped from being twisted in anger.

She walked down the stairs, pretending no one heard anything that had just happened. They did the same. All but John Blackwell who caught her eyes, holding her stare as if trying to convey that he knew what she felt; that he understood.

It was only minutes later that she gathered herself enough to walk back up and check on Jake. The only ones left were her, Jake, Adam, Cassie and Cassie's father. He stayed downstairs on the couch as Diana went up, slowing and concealing her footsteps when she heard strained voices.

"There's more," Cassie continued saying whatever she had started. "That lethe root, when we drink this, we'll forget how we feel about eachother."

Diana was bending down until her backside bumped down on the step she had stopped on. She had thought Jake was meant to drink it, but it made sense that since they were the ones with the curse, they would be the ones to drink the elixir.

"No. There's no way." Adam stated flatly, leaving no room for arguement.

"We'll remember everything," Cassie tried. "Even that we loved eachother... We just won't remember _why_. We won't be in love."

"That's crazy. I'm not gonna do it."

"There's no other way to break the curse," her voice calmly pleaded.

"Oh, so we're gonna destroy _us_, to save a killer?"

"If we let him die, then _we're_ the killers. We're just like him."

Diana didn't know she'd been crying until a tear dropped onto her arm that was set in her lap. She lifted the back of her hand to touch against her cheek, gently wiping the tear away.

"No, Cassie. Being with you is more important than anything."

Diana broke then, her face falling as her eyes closed. This time, she made no attempt at getting rid of the tears.

She couldn't make out anything Cassie had said, but Adam's voice, so familiar, was easy to make out.

"Cassie...there is _no_ elixir that could _ever_ make me forget how much I love you. Not for long. I swear."

The silence that followed made Diana pushed herself up from the stairs and walk down, ignoring John Blackwell's eyes that followed her.

Outside with the door shut behind her, she was able to let go of the sob that had been building up all day.

There were so many reasons to cry. She'd been forgotten, like a past memory that was too meaningless to consider. It was clear she had never meant to Adam what he had meant to her. And though it hurt, it _was_ past-tense. Soon, she'd be falling in love again, even if part of her wanted to reject the very idea. She was so used to Adam, so wrapped up in him being her beginning and end, that she hadn't considered any other life. Any other possibilities. But where did all those declarations go? All those words of love, their expressions of it written out, said allowed, and _made_ between one another...

And now Cassie was going to be left with the same thing, and this was something Diana wouldn't wish on _anyone._

If those two couldn't make it, who could? Who could prove to be stronger than the stars?

* * *

><p><em>Part III and Final:<em>

_"It's a melody  
>It's a battle cry<br>It's a symphony."_

* * *

><p>Sunlight protruded beyond his eyelids, waking him as if he were home. In a bed he thought of as his own now.<p>

But he wasn't in his own bed, and he definetly wasn't home.

And he was..._alive._

Jake sat up, his body sore and weak, with a headache that burned with the fire of a thousand suns.

Blackwell walked up the steps, obviously to check on Jake.

He wasn't completely sure how to thank him.

"You saved my life."

"I helped," Blackwell answered simply.

Jake frowned in thought.

"Was I hallucinating or did Adam and Cassie just destroy their relationship...for me?"

"You don't think you're worth saving?"

"I _know_ I'm not," Jake admitted with a strong pentinence.

Blackwell must have known it well, because he gave a look as if he knew. He sat himself down next to Jake. "You're one of six," he began telling him. "You matter."

"They don't know me," he paused, not sure if he should have admitted what he wanted to, or not. "I killed Calvin."

Blackwell paused for a moment, making Jake think he'd given up on him. He wouldn't have blamed him. With having been so close to death, Jake felt different. _Aware._ Aware of right and wrong; of justice and injustice.

"Well, that's in the past."

Jake shook his head slightly. "I wish it was, but the look on Cassie's face when she found out... I'm surprised she didn't let me die. Or Diana, for that matter." He looked at John then. "She was talking to me at some point, right?"

"I know she was bringing up cool rags to you..."

Jake nodded, remembering bits and pieces of their conversation.

"I understand...more than you know, Jake. But a man _can_ change."

After a short pause, Jake looked at him again. "You really believe that?"

Blackwell's hand clapped onto his shoulder, squeezing in reassurance. The way a father might.

"I do," he told him.

Jake definetly felt that his head hung lower than it normally did.

"Anyone want any tea?"

Jake and Blackwell both looked up as Diana walked up the last step, mugs and a pot of herbal smelling tea in hand. Jake took the offered tea eagerly, practically gulping it down.

"I guess I'll see you two," John said then, like he was taking a cue to leave them alone. Diana glanced at Jake with a look that matched his thoughts.

She sat down beside him, pouring herself a cup before asking him how he felt.

"Like shit ran over hundreds of times."

"Wow, _hundreds_..." She looked at him, her laugh sparking through the silence of the house after she saw the look he'd given her.

"Did you stay here?" He asked her, noting her clean clothing and clean smell.

"Uh, no. I went home. But I was the last to leave."

"John didn't stay here?"

"No one did, Jake."

"Good."

She grinned at him, drinking a bit of her tea.

"How do you feel...otherwise?"

"About the same."

"If it's any consolation, I'm glad you didn't die."

He scoffed ironically at that. "Can't think I'd say the same thing if I were you."

"Well, then it's a good thing you're not."

He eyed her to see if she was serious, and there was no smile to be seen.

"About last night-"

"We don't ever have to talk about it. Promise."

"I was going to say thank you."

"Oh." She shrugged, her jaw resting against her hand as she set her elbow on her thigh. "Then, you're welcome."

He drank in the hot tea, letting it coat his throat completely.

"I should get going," she said, hesitating before she stood.

"Can I ask you something?"

She nodded to him, waiting patiently.

"Last night I- I thought I could hear my mom. I don't know if it was a dream or not, but it was her voice. It wasn't like she was talking to me how she would when I was little, so it couldn't have been a memory."

"Was- did she talk to you about...Calvin?"

Jake nodded, his eyes on Diana then.

She nodded with him in response, but the look she had, made him frown.

"What?"

She leaned forward, the space between them lessening. "I think it was me."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, you were talking in your sleep, or when you weren't fully..._here_. You asked her to forgive you and I kind of- I told you I was sure she did."

She rushed ahead with her explaination, grabbing his hand when he sat down his mug in order to try and rub his face with his hands. She got ahold of one, trying to make him look at her again, but he couldn't.

"I'm _so_ sorry. I didn't mean to- I shouldn't have talked to you when you were like that. I'm _so_ sorry, Jake."

"It's okay," he replied plainly.

"No, it's not because if I had thought I'd talked to my mom..." She sighed, resting his hand in her lap. He looked at her small hands grasping his large one, causing exchanged words to come back into his recollection from the night.

She looked down to what he'd been staring at and instantly let go. "Sorry. Habit."

Pulling his hand back, he looked at her closely. "I guess it's the likeness in your voices."

"What likeness?"

"The kindness... How soft it-" He stopped talking when he took a double take at her, frowning then. "What is it?"

"Nothing," she answered quickly. "Sorry."

"You act like you do such bad things all the time. Stop apologizing so much." He wasn't letting her _nothing_ go though, wondering if it had anything to do with her conversation with Adam.

"Was Adam right?"

Her eyebrows raised as if surprised, but she quickly fixed her face to look neutral. "About what?"

What was he going to do, ask her if she liked him? Like he was in elementary or something?

"Would you have cared as much if you didn't have feelings for me?"

He supposed the filter that had been absent last night, had decided to take a longer vacation than necessary.

"You're implying that I have feelings for you," she stated flatly to him.

"Do you?"

Her eyes squinted, as if it physically hurt her to answer him on the subject. When her phone vibrated, she jumped. It broke through their silence, and Jake turned away asking himself what he was doing.

"Um, it's Melissa. Faye has a nine-one-one." She looked back up at him, but he couldn't meet her eyes again. "I should go."

"Yeah, yeah. Go ahead. I'm uh, gonna stick around here until the pain in my head fades."

"Oh, that reminds me!" From her pocket, she pulled a small baggy with two small white pills. He took them, raising an eyebrow at her in question. "Pain pills..."

"Don't you ever take a break?"

She chuckled, obviously getting that he was meaning her consideration. "I'll take that as a compliment."

"Take it however you want," he told her, opening the baggy to take one of them.

She walked forward, wincing at him when he looked up at her. Her fingers touched his forehead and he lightly swatted her hand away.

"Stop fussing over me," he complained, huffing out a breath through his nose when she grabbed his head to hold him still.

"You should clean that when you can."

"It'll heal."

"It'll get infected..."

Jake pulled one of her hands down, finding that he was reluctant to let it go right away. When he glanced up at her, he noticed her eyes were still on their hands.

"I'm sorry about what I did. I mean, I'm sorry for everything I've done, but personally for you, about my, uh..."

"I agree with Cassie's dad."

Jake looked up at her, squinting against the sunlight.

"You heard all that?"

She shrugged, finally pulling her hand back. "I think a man can change, yes. I think you have a lot of..._proving_ to do."

He completely agreed with that.

"But I also think you're wrong," she added.

Jake stared up at her, not knowing whether to speak or to let her do all the talking.

"You don't think you're worth saving, but I think you are. So does Cassie. And I'm more than positive your parents would agree with me." At the face Jake made, she grinned and added, "Parents love me."

"Thanks."

She started backing away, pointing a finger at him, her eyes narrowing. "I think you should take a break."

"What?"

"You act like you're cursed all the time. Stop thanking everyone," she said in the same tone he'd used, mocking him.

He actually felt the corner of his mouth lift as she waved a goodbye, bounding down the steps.

It was unfathomable how wary of him she could be, yet still consider him worth saving.

* * *

><p><em>End<em>

* * *

><p><strong>Note: I know you hate me for not even putting in a kiss, but I have a duty to both Jake and Diana to keep it as realistic as possible. <strong>

**But could I somehow make a kiss between them, even with how soon it would be, realistic? I don't know but I was about to post this when I thought of an "alternative ending" idea. **

**-insert the sound of a tape rewinding-**

* * *

><p><em>Part III and FinalAlternative Ending:_

_"A thousand armies  
>Couldn't keep me out."<em>

* * *

><p>Pulling his hand back, he looked at her closely. "I guess it's the likeness in your voices."<p>

"What likeness?"

"The kindness... How soft it-" He stopped talking when he took a double take at her, frowning then. "What is it?"

She opened her mouth, contemplating between saying whatever she was thinking, and not saying anything at all.

Finally, she gave a small shake of her head and grinned, her eyes on her fidgiting fingers in her lap. "I kind of like the idea. Having a likeness with your mother." She paused before moving on to explain. "We always hear about everyone's absent parents from back then, you know? I've personally never heard _one_ bad thing about your mom or dad, so having something in common with them, even small, is kind of nice to hear."

It was her turn to do the double take and frown at him in question. "What's wrong?"

"I'm not totally sure," which was a lie, "...but I think I can remember Adam calling me a puppy." Sure he'd changed the subject, but it was also because he didn't want to think of his parents. Not right then anyway.

Her head cocked to the side, a knowing grin on her face though she was trying to bypass it as if she wasn't fully sure what he was talking about.

"Guess I'd prefer that over him saying he wouldn't mind me being dead."

"It doesn't matter if I have feelings for someone or not. The _amount_ of caring I show might be different, but anyone with a heart would care. The pain you were in was obvious, and I'm not some weird alien creature that-"

Jake tuned her out then, touching his hand to his head which was still on fire.

"Stop," he said quietly, still hearing her adding a few things in which didn't make sense since he hadn't been listening. "Diana!" He yelled, putting his hand directly over over her mouth. She jumped, startled by the sudden movement. He was sure he hadn't moved that fast in a full twenty four hours.

"Jesus, don't you ever take a breath?"

She laughed into his hand, her chuckling dying down as she calmed. Jake pulled his hand away watching her lashes lift as she glanced up at him. Diana seemed to be somewhere along same thoughts as his, because he could have sworn she'd held her breath.

"I should go," she breathed into the quiet air around them.

Jake nodded, but it wasn't in agreeance. He was still trying to figure out if what Adam had said was true. If with all they'd gone through yesterday, she still was able to stand being around him. Liking him wasn't as important to him as her simply not minding his company. Especially since he wasn't sure Cassie would ever look at him the same way. Out of everyone, he would have expected Adam and Diana to have been the two completely against him.

A buzzing came from Diana's pocket and her eyes closed in reponse as she sighed.

What was he doing? What were _they_ doing?

Yesterday had been a day of reckoning. An opening of the eyes, though he felt half the time he was either passed out or sleeping. He turned, meaning to ask her about hearing from either Cassie or Adam when her mouth touched the corner of his. The both instantly pulled back, but Diana was the only one able to talk. Her eyes were wide, her mouth open, stuck on words that were more than likely a mess. Much like the thoughts in his head.

"I- I was going to just-"

He knew what she was going to do. She was meaning for a sympathetic peck. A closing to an experience neither of them would mention again. An occurance that bonded them in the strangest of ways.

And he was already leaning in by the time his brain was able to take note of what he was doing.

She was unmoving as he experimentally kissed her bottom lip, waiting for her to either slap him, or pull back. Either way, he was expecting rejection.

His mouth hovered before hers, unsure of what to do now that he'd put himself in a rather deep situation. Their eyes connected a moment before she leaned in the rest of the way, her lips pressing against his own. Jake could feel her pulling away, but he lifted a hand, holding her face as he moved with her, both of them breathing out heavily. Despite his body's protesting, his hand dropped to her waist, pulling her closer to him when a more than annoying vibration interupted, breaking their kiss with a loud smack. Her fingers flew to her lips, pressing against them as she awkwardly moved her other hand around her pockets in seach for her phone.

"Melissa..." she spoke excitedly into her cell. She stood, Jake's hand fell back into his lap and he simply stared at her pacing the floor in front of him. "I'm out the door now," she told Melissa. "Yep." After pulling it away from her ear, she faced him, but neither of them had any words.

What was there to say at that point? There was no explaination. No real reason.

And his own head hurt too much to even fully process what had just happened.

"I've really gotta go..."

"Just go," he told her flatly. His less than enthused tone wasn't for lack of caring. It was more for lack of control over his life for the second day in a row.

"I hope we're not going to act like this never happened."

"Seriously?" It left his mouth before he was able to stop it. His hands paused against his face as he had been rubbing his eyes.

"Yeah, but I have to go. We'll talk later. Oh, and here..." She pulled out a small baggy with two small white pills inside. "Pain meds." She tossed the baggy to the bed before turning to run down the steps.

Didn't she ever take a break?

Jake fell back onto the bed, his whole body sore and completely worn. His hand felt around until he heard the wrinkling of plastic, and he gripped the pills in his fist. Sleeping wouldn't have been difficult originally, considering how wrecked he was, but now...

He could still feel the pressure of her lips against his own.

"Shit."


End file.
